Nearly all of Aurora city government’s departments have seen changes in leadership this year after a large number of top employees departed City Hall. Aurora saw a change in the highest position of city leadership this year too, when John Laesch was elected mayor over incumbent Richard Irvin. Most of the employees who left their top spots at City Hall this year did so after the election in April, with many resigning or retiring around when Laesch took office in May. Laesch said he didn’t think turnover was unusual during a change in administration. City departments that have seen a change in upper leadership include Police, Fire, Community Services, Public Works, Finance, Law, Human Resources and Information Technology. The mayor’s office also has all-new staff, including in the professional positions that help the mayor manage the city. The top staff in the mayor’s office under Irvin all served out their last day on May 13. That included former Chief Management Officer Alex Alexandrou, who retired; former Deputy Chief of Staff Alex Voigt, who now is the city administrator of Geneva; former Deputy Chief of Staff Maria Lindsay and former Deputy Mayor Guillermo Trujillo, who retired. Some of those positions have since changed names, but the mayor’s office professional staff now includes Chief of Staff Shannon Cameron, Deputy Chief of Staff Nicholas Richard-Thompson, Deputy Mayor Casildo “Casey” Cuevas and Director of Fiscal Integrity and Government Operations Brian Caputo. Others left at the same time as those in the mayor’s office, including former Chief Community Services Officer Viviana Ramirez and former Chief Information Officer Michael Pegues. The Information Technology Department is now led by Ram Tyagi, and the Community Services Department is headed by Nicole Mullins. Former Chief Engagement and Equity Officer Clayton Muhammad, who also acted as one of Aurora’s main spokespersons and was hailed as “the voice of Aurora” by Laesch, left his city role a few weeks later. The department Muhammad led, Community Affairs, was eliminated through the recently-approved 2026 budget, with officials saying the department’s duties would be split among others. Both of Aurora’s public safety departments saw their top leaders retire this year. Former Police Chief Keith Cross retired around the end of May. Matt Thomas, who served as deputy police chief under Cross, was appointed by Irvin but was sworn in by Laesch as the next police chief. Then in late November, David McCabe retired as fire chief. Currently serving as the interim chief is Deputy Chief Kevin Nickel. The Aurora Emergency Management Agency, which is under the fire department, also saw a change in leadership this year. Natalie Wiza, who had served as the EMA’s coordinator since 2020, left in October and is now Naperville’s emergency manager, according to her LinkedIn. Theodore Van De Sampel is now serving as the interim coordinator. The leaders of other city departments had similar departures, with some retiring and others taking different jobs. Former Corporation Counsel Richard Veenstra, who led the law department, was replaced by Yordana Wysocki. Her appointment to the position previously held by Veenstra was approved by the Aurora City Council in June. Chris Minick, who led the finance department as chief financial officer and city treasurer, left the city in the summer. He now works as Montgomery’s finance director, and his former role at the city of Aurora has since been filled by Stacy Peterson, who was previously the director of financial operations. Former Chief Human Resources Officer Alisia Lewis retired in September after working at the city since 1996. Later that month, Laesch appointed Michele Clark — who was the director of equity, diversity and inclusion — as the interim chief human resources officer. Earlier in the year before Laesch was elected, Ken Schroth left his position as Aurora’s director of public works and city engineer. He is now the assistant utilities director of Panama City Beach, Florida, Schroth’s LinkedIn profile and that city’s website shows. Jason Bauer was appointed to be Aurora’s new director of public works and city engineer in July after serving in the role as interim for months. Within departments, there have also been some leadership changes. One example is Ruthy Harris, who was director of property standards. A city spokesperson said she was let go due to a reorganization within the division, and that Assistant Director Josue Alcaraz is currently serving in the role as interim. Ed Sieben, the city’s former zoning administrator, also retired this year. That position was filled by Tracey Vacek, who has worked in the planning department since 2004, according to her LinkedIn. Another example is Martha Paschke, who was serving as the director of Innovation and Strategy until her position was eliminated this year. She had worked on projects like the Aurora’s Promise student savings accounts, addressing homelessness and improving access to services to boost upward mobility, she recently told The Beacon-News. “I had been looking forward to expanding on this work and was surprised when the current administration decided to eliminate my position,” Paschke said. “I miss the team I was honored to work with and the stakeholders I was privileged to collaborate with.” Mayor Laesch said he doesn’t think it is out of the ordinary to see a change in staff alongside changes to mission and goals when a new administration comes in. Most left on their own, while others either weren’t meeting standards or weren’t agreeing on the new mission and goals, he said. There’s been an adjustment period among new leadership, according to Laesch. And really, he said, “we’re still under it.” [email protected] ...read more read less